'Jacks lose to Hagerstown on last-second shotChesapeake now needs strong finish to earn home playoff game

HAGERSTOWN  Dale Becraft was pleased with everything  except the final result.

"We played a Division I team down to the final shot on their home court," said Becraft Wednesday night after his Chesapeake College men’s basketball team dropped a 90-88 decision to Hagerstown Community College. "I thought we played hard the whole game and we had a chance to win at the end. The shot just didn’t fall."

The shot was Rob Lowery’s attempt at a game-winning, three-pointer from halfcourt as time expired. Lowery’s heave banked off the front of the rim, leaving the Skipjacks (14-7 overall, 6-7 league) with four losses in their last six games.

Chesapeake overcame an 88-82 deficit in the final 90 seconds, tying the game with 30 seconds remaining thanks to four free throws by Jamarl Glen and two by Lowery.

Hawk Tommy Cox’s jumper with five seconds remaining rimmed out, but teammate Raquan Miles got the long rebound. Miles then banked home a jumper with 1.5 seconds remaining to put Hagerstown (11-11, 9-4) back in front.

Becraft called timeout, then set up a play with two options.

"We had Lowery set a back screen for Chris Brown, trying to free Brown up deep," said Becraft. "Our second option was for Lowery to set the screen and then come back and get the ball."

Brown was covered, so Lowery moved back toward the ball and took the inbounds pass. He got as far as halfcourt before letting loose with his would-be game-winner.

Cox led five Hawks into double figures with a game-high 23 points. Lamar Richburg (16 points), Jobe Monodau (13), Derrick Fields (11) and Miles (10) were the other Hawks in double figures.

The Skipjacks dropped into eighth place in the Maryland Junior College Athletic Conference standings, with the top eight teams hosting first-round state tournament games. Chesapeake finishes the regular season with four games against teams with losing records, including a showdown with seventh-place Howard Community College (9-10, 7-6).

"We’ll finish seventh if we win out," said Becraft. "We probably need to win three out of four to finish in the top eight, or we’ll have to open the tournament on the road."

Chesapeake concludes its regular-season home schedule with Montgomery College/Germantown Friday night and Anne Arundel Community College next Monday night, with both games starting at 7 p.m. The Skipjacks play at Harford Community College next Wednesday (5 p.m.) and at Howard next Friday (7 p.m.).